Italians have managed to make the otherwise innocent New Year's Eve celebration a little bit naughty. Tradition dictates that everyone must wear red underwear on New Year's Eve - from boxer shorts to sexy lace panties - anything goes, as long as it's red. Shortly after Christmas, red underwear is stocked exclusively all over the country, so there is no excuse not to join in! When you rent a villa in Tuscany which we highly recommend as Italian New Year’s celebrations are legendary! With a great deal of feasting and fireworks that can be brilliantly overlooked in the valley below from La Collina del Sole one of the best located Villa rentals in Tuscany as it is placed overlooking the Serchio valley. This superb Lucca villa rental has a commanding view of the Apuane hills, where more fireworks can be seen from high altitude villages and refugios where long distance walkers have accomplished a once in a lifetime experience and trekked from their holiday villas in Lucca to the top of the Apuane range, with its beautiful Monte Forato a mountain that has a huge circular hole through the middle, a highlight to view from the villas for rent in TuscanyIn Spain and Chile there is a similar custom of wearing unusual underwear in case you thought that it sounded a little odd, in Japan locals consume large amounts of a chewy, sweet rice cake, called Mochi, in order to guarantee a long and happy life. This sounds innocent enough, however this tradition has been known to lead to people choking to death – I’m not sure if it’s worth the hassle, to be honest…best to stick to red underwear!
Italians also eat “cotechino e lenticchie” (pig’s feet and lentils) during New Years. According to tradition this bizarre ritual will bring good luck to the Italian’s finances in the coming year. The economical abundance wished for is symbolised through the hoof because the meat has a high fat content and a superior richness in flavour to other cuts of meat. Equally symbolic are the lentils, as their ovular shape is reminiscent of gold coins and the money the Italians hope to earn in the coming year. Needless to say, the more you eat, the better off you will be financially! The traditional recipe that you will come across in the surrounding area of la Collina del Sole will be pig’s feet in a tomato sauce. Nicely browned pig trotter will simmer in a sauce composed of sautéed and thinly sliced onion and chopped garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, oregano and Italian seasonings. Chefs will cook the pig’s feet in the sauce for up to four hours until the meat in incredibly succulent and tender, and it falls off the bone easily – sounds pretty delicious to me!